Ryan McBride/Staff photographer
Families came out to visit Santa during “Plaid Friday” to support local businesses on Central Avenue in Dover.

DOVER — Many local shoppers made a conscious decision this year to shop local during the holiday season by staying close to home with their dollars to find the perfect gift or stocking stuffer.

Plaid Friday, part of the Seacoast Shop Local campaign, kicked off in Dover with the arrival of St. Nick himself along with Mrs. Claus drawing a steady crowd of children to his workshop set up in the Cocheco Mill Courtyard.

Surrounded in the downtown core by dozens of merchants offering incentives to shoppers, the workshop will remain in the courtyard through the duration of the holiday season.

“I've never met Santa,” Alyssa Micklijn, 6, said, watching as the man in red took his place downtown.

Dressed in a red jacket, she watched in awe the man to whom she'd already written a Christmas letter.

“I told him I was good this year. And I helped my mom a lot,” she said.

Not alone in her efforts to win over Santa, Alyssa said some of her friends were looking forward to seeing him in the holiday parade, themed “One Thousand Gifts,” by the Saint Mary Academy and Saint Thomas Aquinas Parade Committee.

Shoppers were treated to free parking on Plaid Friday, a “token of appreciation” from the city.

“In support of the Dover Main Street and Chamber of Commerce Plaid Friday promotion, the Parking Commission did vote Tuesday to make the day after Thanksgiving a parking holiday,” City Manager Michael Joyal wrote in an email.

At Jewelry Creations, sales agents were kept busy by a bustling storeful of customers perusing the glass cases displaying everything silver and gold and shiny.

Owner Linda Hagen said while the store can't compete with big box retailers and chain stores, she tries each year to offer some sort of giveaway at the store and said her efforts have been well received.

“What we do we always do honestly,” she said.

On Friday, shoppers who spent a total of $250 in the store were treated to a free gift of a Shamballa bracelet, normally about a $50 item.

“That's been very successful,” she said.

Hagen said the different events and promotions held throughout the year were popular with customers, the driving force behind everything done at the store.

“We're a small store in a small town,” she said.

And while the store was busy Friday morning with customers at every counter as Plaid Friday continued, Hagen said there's no way to really predict the volume of patrons who would walk through the door.

“You just can't take for granted that things will go well or not,” she said. “It's always been good for us, you just never know.”

Proving a little busier than the Central Ave strip, downtown Somersworth saw shoppers in many of its High Street businesses.

At Poppyseeds, Sherry Soldati-Pratt greeted a steady flow of customers to her store and said it had been that way throughout the day.

While there were no specific promotions in place for Plaid Friday, advertising for the local shopping effort was successful in drawing in consumers.

“People seem very aware of it,” she said.

Throughout the holiday season, Poppyseeds hosts a different “Secret Santa Sale” each Saturday.

Soldati-Pratt said jewelry and home decor were the most popular selling items.

Doug Watson, of Somersworth, is a regular customer of the store, which opened nine years ago on Black Friday, and said he came out for Plaid Friday to support local merchants.

“I think it's a wonderful idea,” he said.

He and his wife were shopping for small gifts to sent overseas to relatives in Ireland and Belgium, where his wife's family is from.

He said they liked the idea of spending money on local things to send to loved ones.

And, having lived in the city for 28 years, Watson also said it was nicer today to spend time in the city than in past years.

Next door at The Rustic Dragonfly, owner Judy Foley was happy to see the amount of traffic coming through the doors of her shop where all lights and lamps were 25 percent off regular price.

She was also happy with the amount of support from neighboring merchants who have kind of shown her the ropes, so to speak.

“We're one of the new kids on the block,” she laughed. “We're learning from the pros.”

When there's downtime, surrounding merchants have reassured Foley and kept her confident that business will pick up, often arriving in waves.

“The cooperation has been great for us,” she said.

The Rustic Dragonfly boasted numerous items for shoppers looking for something unique, such as handmade wreaths and lights to either decorate their home or give as a gift.

At the Christmas Dove in Barrington, a local landmark and family destination for the last 40 years, business was “rockin' and rollin'” throughout the day according to president Garth Svenson.

While he noted it would be odd if the store was not busy this time of year, he was pleased with the customers who strolled through the decorated shop on Plaid Friday, where some of the employees even wore their favorite plaid accessories.

“It's been a great day,” Svenson said.

The biggest draw to the store, he hoped, was not necessarily the items The Christmas Dove offered for sale, but what a visit to the store gave families — a priceless memory.

“When a family walks out of here they have a memory,” Svenson said.

“We just love it. We came later in the day after hanging out at home and just had a great time walking through the store and all the festive rooms,” Anna McCalsain said as she and her son, Tyler, 8 walked to their car Friday evening.

It was exactly the type of atmosphere and experience she wanted to share with her son rather than braving the larger retailers, some of whom opened Thanksgiving night.

“I just don't like that,” McCalsain said.

“We're not the kind of store that does doorbusters,” he said.

The store didn't offer any special sales on Plaid Friday, just their usual festive holiday atmosphere, decorations that draw a regular crowd, and a place for youngsters to make personalized ornaments with an artist on-hand.

One Second Computers and Communications were selling out of hot items like the HTC One X 4G mobile phone, which was a steal at just 99 cents during Plaid Friday only.

Owner Tim DeKorne, who also dressed in plaid for the occasion, spent time Friday afternoon explaining the high-tech gadget to customers taking advantage of the sale as a handful of people browsed for upgrades to their mobile devices throughout the day.

“We've been steady and having a great time here today,” he said.

As the day continued, Santa and Mrs. Claus were seen wandering through the town, waving to passersby and motorists looking for a place to shop.

Click image to enlarge

John Huff/Staff photographer
Doug Watson shops local at Poppyseeds on High Street in Somersworth for Plaid Friday, an effort to encourage consumers to shop small businesses.

Click image to enlarge

John Huff/Staff photographer
Judy Foley of The Rustic Dragonfly in Somersworth offers specials for Plaid Friday, an effort to encourage consumers to shop small businesses.